Giver

Giver

“When you give to people from out of the love that is in your heart from God, healing, blessings, and understanding flows from your actions and words with patience, clarity, purpose, and direction.” ~ Jon Barnes

Methods

God’s training methods are unique, effective and efficiently original. Like fingerprints, each lesson God instructs has its own weight, merit, and purpose to fulfill. God’s word gives power to simplicity, honesty, and character to the obedient child who listens. Recognize when God’s methods are being applied to your life and give God credit and thanks for your blessings.

Lessons

Lessons are practiced and mastered many times before the test of battle. Daily preparation of your fate hangs in the balance of your continued cooperation with the Spirit of God and His Commandments. Don’t underestimate the power of obedience in the hands of a giving servant, who is willing to do the work, standing up for what is right.

Learned

Lifelong learners continue to develop their gifts for The Lord so that they may use them in service of the Kingdom and service of others. Training new leaders with opportunities to serve to give the next generation a fighting chance to know who God is, by practicing their faith.It is important to model and teach the next generation about God, so they do not forget the stories and blessings.

Today’s Question

How do you inspire the next generation to hold onto God’s Commandments?

Enjoy the Reading

1 Samuel 19

Saul Tries to Kill David

19 Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David,2 told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields.3 I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.”

4 The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could.5 Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!”

6 So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.”

7 Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before.

8 War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away.

9 But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit[a] from the Lord suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp,10 Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night.

Michal Saves David’s Life

11 Then Saul sent troops to watch David’s house. They were told to kill David when he came out the next morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be dead by morning.”12 So she helped him climb out through a window, and he fled and escaped.13 Then she took an idol[b] and put it in his bed, covered it with blankets, and put a cushion of goat’s hair at its head.

14 When the troops came to arrest David, she told them he was sick and couldn’t get out of bed.

15 But Saul sent the troops back to get David. He ordered, “Bring him to me in his bed so I can kill him!”16 But when they came to carry David out, they discovered that it was only an idol in the bed with a cushion of goat’s hair at its head.

17 “Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy escape?” Saul demanded of Michal.

“I had to,” Michal replied. “He threatened to kill me if I didn’t help him.”

18 So David escaped and went to Ramah to see Samuel, and he told him all that Saul had done to him. Then Samuel took David with him to live at Naioth.19 When the report reached Saul that David was at Naioth in Ramah,20 he sent troops to capture him. But when they arrived and saw Samuel leading a group of prophets who were prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men, and they also began to prophesy.21 When Saul heard what had happened, he sent other troops, but they, too, prophesied! The same thing happened a third time.22 Finally, Saul himself went to Ramah and arrived at the great well in Secu. “Where are Samuel and David?” he demanded.

“They are at Naioth in Ramah,” someone told him.

23 But on the way to Naioth in Ramah the Spirit of God came even upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy all the way to Naioth!24 He tore off his clothes and lay naked on the ground all day and all night, prophesying in the presence of Samuel. The people who were watching exclaimed, “What? Is even Saul a prophet?”